


Douse the Flames

by ladyofthursday



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Liberties Taken with Lore, M/M, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-05 19:16:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20493908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyofthursday/pseuds/ladyofthursday
Summary: What Simon thought was a serious case of the grumpys turns out to be something much worse - Raphael is sick, and Simon and Jace need answers.Luckily they have a warlock on hand, but things might not be as simple as anyone had hoped.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TobytheWise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TobytheWise/gifts).

> Happy Birthday Bestie!! Thanks for being my friend, I love you so much! <3 
> 
> This is for you: soft boys, hurt/comfort, some sweetness and obviously a happy ending. I apologize now for taking liberal liberties with the lore.

Simon knows he’s practically vibrating as he gives orders to the clan members residing in Hotel DuMort. Technically, he knows they won’t listen to him as much as they’d listen to Raphael. But their clan leader is currently indisposed with a serious case of the grumpys and he’s liable to bite someone’s head off at a moments notice. 

Literally. 

Everyone is pretty used to their relationship now. The only part they’ve really struggled with is their third, and that’s mostly because of who and what he is. 

“What’s the problem?” Jace asks, stepping through the DuMort’s front door without even knocking. Simon’s not even sure how he gets in half the time - he just puts it down to shadowhunter-ness and leaves it at that. 

“Did someone give Raphael the wrong blood type again? Is that why he’s threatening murder?” Jace rolls his eyes, ignoring a couple of other vamps who are hovering in the background. “He’s so picky, does it even taste that different?” 

“One, yes it does,” says Simon, trying to ignore the way that Jace’s pants cling to his thighs or the way the holster is wrapped tightly around them. That’s not what Jace is here for at all. “And two, no it’s not that. I think it’s worse.” 

“What’s going on?” Jace says. 

“I don’t know,” Simon says, because he doesn’t. He’s never seen Raphael like this before and even though he’s pretty sure it’s not serious, he’s still worried. 

Jace frowns. “Show me.” He leaves his weapons at the door - something that’s been agreed with the other DuMort residents to make them feel a little more comfortable with Jace’s presence. He may be one of their leader’s boyfriends, but Raphael isn’t one for running roughshod over his clan’s feelings. He’s not Camille and listening to their opinions and concerns is a simple way for them to trust in him a little more. Plus it helps that Raphael actually listens instead of just ignoring them. 

Jace was the one who didn’t get much say in the matter but he only bitched about it once. That was enough to get him in trouble and he’s not complained since. 

Simon leads them through the hotel, from the more ostentatious public spaces into his and Raphael’s rooms. They’re more subtly decorated, more comfortable - with leather armchairs and dark oak bookshelves and a large television in one corner that Simon persuaded Raphael to let him install so they can host movie nights. They have a couple of bedrooms down here, but he leads Jace to the largest of them. The bed in here is ridiculously large, big enough to sleep all three of them with room to spare, and when it’s just him and Raphael they can lie like starfish on either side and not touch in the middle.

Although they do spend most nights curled up together in the middle because Raphael loves being spooned. He’d murder Simon without hesitation if Simon told anyone though. 

Raphael is curled up in the middle of the bed at the moment, a small mound in an ocean of soft, dark sheets. He’s wearing black satin pajamas that Magnus gave him last year as a birthday present. They’ve got his initials embroidered on the pocket in red silken thread and even though Raphael pretends he hates them, he virtually lives in them when he’s not in one of his customary suits. 

“Baby?” Simon asks, perching on the edge of the bed and running his fingers over Raphael’s forehead. His skin is slick with sweat which is virtually unheard of. Half an hour ago, Raphael had been sitting up in bed grumbling loudly and vociferously about feeling unwell, and snapping at Simon constantly, but now he’s quiet and he’s not even objecting to being called  _ baby _ . Something is definitely wrong. 

“Shit,” Jace says from the other side of the bed. “What happened?” 

“I don’t know, he’s been miserable all day. I mean, I thought he was just being grumpy but I think something’s wrong. I mean he was fine, well fine enough, when I went upstairs about thirty minutes ago,” Simon says, his fingers touching his nose as if to push his glasses up them, even though he doesn’t wear them anymore. “I didn’t think vampires could get sick.”

“They can’t, at least, I don’t think they can.” Jace looks down at Raphael and frowns, blond locks falling over his face. 

“Should we call someone?” 

“I can hear your talking,” Raphael says from somewhere under the duvet. He rolls over, looking at both of them with what Simon thinks is supposed to be a cross look, but he just looks more like a grumpy kitten. “Idiotas.” 

“How’re you feeling?” Simon asks, reaching out to touch Raphael’s face again but stopping just short when the other vampire looks like he might bite Simon’s hand off if he tried. 

“Horrible,” Raphael says, spite evident in his voice. “My insides feel like they’re burning, my head is killing me and I want to peel my skin off.” He buries himself deeper under the duvet. “I hate it.” 

“What’s caused this?” Jace asks, the frown on his face deepening. “Did you drink something different?”

“If I knew then I wouldn’t feel like this,” Raphael tries to snap, but he fails when he winces in pain, curling over into a ball and whimpering. 

“I’m calling Magnus,” Jace says in a tone that neither of them can argue with. He pulls out his phone, hopping up from the bed and disappearing into their little living room. Simon can hear him talking frantically, and he’s never heard Jace sound as worried as he does now. 

He’d thought Raphael was just in a bad mood, because that isn’t unusual, but now it’s clear that something is wrong and it’s getting worse by the minute. 

“They’re on their way,” Jace says, sticking his head around the door. “I’ll go up and meet them.” 

Simon assumes Alec will be coming too, judging by the use of the word ‘them’, but he doesn’t mind. Alec is incredibly good at distracting Jace when he’s rattled, because Jace has a habit of either getting snappy or pacing when he’s nervous and Simon’s not sure which is worse. 

Raphael moans again, and Simon curls up next to him, pulling the smaller vampire into his arms and kissing his temple. Raphael is usually ice cold, but right now he’s almost warm and Simon hates it. He tries to think back over the past day or so, tries to think what could have caused this, but nothing springs to mind. 

Two minutes later, the door clatters open and in strides Magnus, looking elegant as ever but wearing a dark look of concern. His husband follows him, holding a dark leather bag that reminds Simon of an old doctors case, and Jace brings up the rear. 

“My darling boy,” Magnus says, sliding onto the other side of the bed. Simon reluctantly releases his hold on Raphael so Magnus can examine him. A wave of blue magic engulfs his love, Magnus’s face tight with concentration. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Well, Raphael’s been super grumpy all day, complaining about his head and I thought he was just being himself, or at least exaggerating. Even when he said he was going to bed I thought he was just being dramatic, but then when I came back down with Jace he was, um, sweating and not really talking, and then a couple of minutes ago he started moaning and curling up, like he had cramps or something. And he almost feels warm? I didn’t vampires could get sick?” The words pour out of Simon before he can stop them, and when he’s done Magnus is nodding. 

“What did you do yesterday?” he asks, ignoring Simon’s last question, which probably isn’t a good thing. 

“Umm, not much? I mean, we went to the Hunter’s Moon? I was playing a set and Raphael came to watch and Jace came later after he’d been on patrol. Then we just came back here.” 

“Did he drink anything different?” 

“Not as far as I know?” Simon says, looking at Jace for answers, but the shadowhunter looks as confused as Simon feels. 

“What’s going on?” Jace asks. “Why does that matter?” 

Magus doesn’t look up as he speaks, his words delivered calmly but having the effect of a nuclear bomb. “I think Raphael’s been poisoned.”


	2. Chapter Two

“What the fuck?” Jace shouts, at the same time as Simon shouts, “how?!” 

“You said you went to the Hunter’s Moon last night?” Magnus asks, gesturing to Alec for his case. “I think someone spiked whatever he drank with holy water. Probably not much, a couple of drops would do it, but it’s poisoning Raphael from the inside out.” 

Simon’s jaw drops, panic flooding his system because how did this happen? And who would want to do that to Raphael? Sure, he’s had some disagreements with people in the past, but this feels like a particularly dramatic reaction. 

Beside him, Jace’s face is contorted with rage. Simon has never seen him look so angry, and that’s saying something. “I’ll kill them.” His voice is deathly quiet, and it makes Simon shiver. If he wasn’t already dead, his blood would probably have run cold. 

“Did Raphael have any disagreements with anyone last night?” Alec asks, and Simon turns to look at him. Alec’s got his head-of-the-institute face on, serious and pensive. 

“I don’t think so,” Simon says, trying to engage his memory. “But I was setting up for a while, and then chatting to Maia, so I don’t know, he could have done.” 

“Yeah,” Jace adds. “When I got there he was talking to someone at the bar, the guy looked pissed but Raphael sent them packing. I don’t know what they were talking about though and Raphael said it was nothing. Just a clan dispute.” 

“Someone from here?” Simon asks. 

“No, I didn’t recognise him.”

“Fuck,” Simon says. 

“I can find him though,” Jace says, and even though Simon isn’t sure if that’s true, he appreciates Jace’s enthusiasm. The shadowhunter is ready and raring to go, and it’s only Alec’s calm demeanour that stops Jace from rushing headfirst out the door without any sort of plan. 

“Hold on,” Alec says, almost grabbing Jace by the collar. “You can’t just go running out the door when you have no idea who they are. We’re going to make a plan and we’re going to get some help because otherwise you’re going to spend all night running over New York with no leads.”

“Fine.” Jace rolls his eyes. “But I get to question them when we find them.” He turns to Simon, a flash of guilt in his eyes, “are you going to be okay if I go?” 

Simon nods, “yeah, we’ll be fine.” He knows that if Jace stays he’ll be absolutely unbearable for the rest of the day and will constantly be texting Alec for updates and then grumbling when he doesn’t get a response. It’s better to let him go and get the hunt out of his system. Besides, he has his parabatai looking out for him, and Simon knows that Alec would never let anything happen to him. 

Jace nods, leaning over the bed beside Simon to press a soft kiss to Raphael’s forehead, whispering something under his breath before stroking the vampire’s dark hair. It’s these little rare moments that Simon loves, the little moments when he gets to see the softer, sweeter side of Jace. The romantic instead of the shadowhunter. 

Last week he’d played the piano for them both, learning one of Raphael’s favourite sonatas and playing it perfectly from memory. The smile on Raphael’s face will be forever etched into Simon’s memory. 

Then Jace turns to Simon, kissing him softly and whispering in his ear, “keep me updated. I want to know everything.” Simon nods, his heart pounding in his chest. He always gets nervous before Jace goes out on a mission, even though Jace is one of the fiercest people he knows, second only to Isabelle. But he still worries, and nothing is ever going to stop that. 

Alec is talking to Magnus when they pull apart. Their voices are hushed, and they kiss quickly before Alec and Jace leave, closing the door softly behind them, leaving Simon and Magnus alone with Raphael. 

Magnus allows the blue flame of magic to dim, opening the case up beside him and rooting through it. 

“Is, is he going to be okay?” Simon asks.

Magnus looks up and smiles softly, “he’s going to be just fine. Nothing that I can’t fix.” He makes a triumphant sound as he pulls a couple of little bottles out of the bag, one of them filled with a dark liquid that can only be described as oozing. “Can you fetch me some blood and a cup please, make it Raphael’s favourite. This isn’t going to be a pleasant experience and we may as well try and make it as palatable as possible.” 

Simon, who’s chest had been flooded with relief at the news that Raphael will be fine, baulks at little at the idea of an unpleasant experience. That can only mean that Raphael will be grumpy as fuck for the next few weeks and Simon makes a mental note to acquire a few things to cheer him up. A couple of his favourite films from the fifties should help, and maybe some records. 

Magnus is looking at him expectantly and Simon realises he hasn’t actually moved. “Oh, shit! Sorry.” He runs to their fridge, hunting out a bag of Raphael’s favourite blood type, and a large cut-crystal glass, placing both on the small table that’s just appeared at Magnus’s side. 

“Thank you,” Magnus says, as he begins mixing something in the glass. Whatever it is, it smells abominable and makes Simon want to hurl. The worst part is the black oozing liquid that smells of sulphur and something rotten: like flesh dried and rotted in the sun. 

“What is that?” Simon asks, trying not to retch. 

“This?” Magnus says, shaking the oozing liquid that bubbles under his fingers. “Greater demon blood. Very rare, very expensive. But it’ll help balance Raphael out again, and my boy is worth it. Plus we’ve got a few other bits that should help but him back to his normal grumpy state in no time.”

“I heard that,” comes a soft, strained voice from the bed between them. Simon had thought Raphael had dozed off, but he seems awake now, more sweat beading on his forehead. “Why have I got to drink that disgusting concoction of yours?” 

“Someone poisoned you sweet boy,” Magnus says, giving him a fond parental smile. It’s the same one Simon’s seen Magnus use on his own children before. “I’m going to give you something to help.” 

Raphael grumbles darkly in Spanish, and even Simon, with his vague highschool level grasp on the language, knows there are a lot of curses being uttered. Then he sticks his hand out from under the cover, gesturing for the glass. The liquid inside is almost black, and seems to be bubbling on it’s own, despite the fact it hasn’t been heated. It still smells vile though. 

“I should wash your mouth out with soap,” Magnus says, ignore Raphael’s theatrics and handing him the glass. Raphael sits up slightly, takes a deep sigh and swallows it in one. 

There’s a pause as Raphael hands the empty glass back. His face is wrinkled in disgust and he looks a bit like a small child who’s just been dosed with medicine. “Never make me drink that again.” 

“As long as you don’t drink holy water again, you won’t have to,” Magnus chuckles. “Now, this probably won’t be pleasant so I’m going to give you a sleeping potion to put you out for a little, that way you can sleep through the worst of the pain.” 

“Pain?” Simon asks, but Raphael has already swallowed the milky draught that Magnus poured for him, and it only takes a couple of seconds before his eyes are looking heavy again. Raphael snuggles deep into the sheets, allowing Simon to tuck him in and kiss his forehead without saying a word. 

When he looks up, Magnus is already packing up his stuff. “I’ll leave you two alone,” he says. “He’ll be out for a while, but this isn’t going to be fun for anyone. If you’re worried, give me a call. But I will say that some screaming is normal unfortunately.” 

“You can stay,” Simon says. He knows how important Raphael is to Magnus, and anyway, Simon’s a little nervous about being here alone. He has no idea what to look for, and no idea what Magnus means by  _ some screaming _ being normal. 

Magnus considers for a moment, then he nods, placing his bag on the floor and summoning a comfortable looking armchair. He seats himself next to the bed, watching Simon and Raphael closely. 

“Do you want a chair?” he asks, and Simon shakes his head. He’s comfortable on the bed with Raphael, and he stretches himself out beside his boyfriend: watching and waiting. 

He and Magnus wait in comfortable silence. Neither of them say anything, and for once Simon doesn’t feel the need to. He’s too nervous in case something goes wrong. He pulls out his phone and sends a quick text to Jace, trying to explain what’s going on in as few words as possible. He gets one back from Jace that’s a mixture of emojis and short sentences - he and Alec are on the other side of the city, hunting down their prime suspect, and he promises to text Simon as soon as he knows more. 

Simon slides his phone onto the cabinet beside the bed, and opens his mouth to tell Magnus what Jace said, but he doesn’t get a chance to speak. Because Raphael rolls onto his back, his head lolling back and eyes blackened, mouth open to the sky, a deafening scream pouring from his lips. 


	3. Chapter Three

The scream is horrifying: it’s the sort of sound that makes your blood run cold, and every nerve and very fibre of your being freeze in terror. It’s the sort of scream that makes you want to run far, far away and never look back. It’s full of pain, anguish and torment. 

And it’s coming from the lips of Simon’s beloved. 

Simon’s never been one for horror movies, not really. He used to hide behind Clary whenever they watched them. And now it feels like he’s stuck in the middle of _The Exorcist_. 

“Baby? Raphael?” he cries, not sure what to. He looks up at Magnus, full of uncertainty and praying the warlock has an answer. Magnus is already out of the chair, leaning against the bed and although his fingers are glowing, he’s not actually doing anything. “What’s going on?” 

“It’s working,” Magnus says, grimly. “The demon blood is purging his body of the holy water, dousing the flames as it were.”

“You have to do something!” Simon says. He’s never been as close to begging as he is now, but he can’t sit by and watch Raphael suffer like this. “Please, do something.”

“I can’t,” Magnus says, looking pained. “That’s why I gave him the sleeping potion. All we can do it wait it out.” He reaches out and squeezes Simon’s shoulder, and Simon knows this is probably just as hard on Magnus as it is on him. Neither of them want to watch Raphael suffer, and yet now they have too. It’s like living in a nightmare. 

Simon’s almost glad Jace isn’t here. 

Despite his protestations, Simon knows that the psychological wounds Valentine inflicted run deep, and sitting in a room while his loved one screams in agony is not something that Simon wants to put Jace through. 

Raphael’s screams dissolve into whimpers and moans, his skin tacky with sweat as he rolls over in the bed, kicking at the sheets. Simon pulls them back, leaving Raphael in just his pyjamas, and after another few minutes he settles into sleep. 

“You know, he always told me he didn’t like those pyjamas,” Magnus says softly, a wry relieved smile on his face. 

“Are you kidding me?” Simon says, a weak chuckle sliding from his lips. “He practically lives in them. I actually wanted to ask you where you got them, because Jace and I wanted to surprise him with another couple of pairs. Y’know that he can wear while these are in the wash because he’s never quite as happy when he can’t wear them.” 

“Oh, I had them handmade in China,” Magnus says. Simon’s heart sinks because of course Magnus did. “But, if you tell me what colours you want, I’ll get you some made. Perhaps red this time.”

“And blue,” Simon says, absent-mindedly thinking about the way Raphael talks about the summer sky. “Like the summer sky.” 

“Sky blue it is,” Magnus says. “I’ll get you and Jace some too.” 

“Oh, you, um, you don’t need too.”

“Why not? Alec and I have some too. Although, I will say that Alexander looks particularly fantastic without the shirt on. Much more preferable. Maybe I should get you all a matching set?” 

Simon laughs because it’s impossible not too. “Thanks,” he says. “For staying and for all your help.” 

“I’d never say no to my darling boy,” Magnus says, his fingers stroking Raphael’s hair. “You promise you’ll take care of him, won’t you? His heart is a fragile thing, no matter what he says.” 

“Always,” Simon says. “I, well I mean we, because I know Jace is the same, but we love him. We’re not going anywhere.”

“Good,” Magnus says, settling back into his armchair. “And don’t worry, I have a whole shovel talk prepared for Jace, I just need to figure out the right moment to deliver it.” 

Simon chuckles, shaking his head. Part of him is tempted to warn Jace, but the larger part of him isn’t, just because he kinda wants to see what happens. Jace’s reaction will be hilarious. 

The two of them once again lapse into comfortable silence, keeping a closely guarded eye on Raphael, but the worst of it seems to have past and he seems to have slipped into a dreamless sleep. At one point he shivers slightly, nothing more than a slight twitch, but Magnus puts his hand out, touching his forehead and sending a soft spark of magic over Raphael’s sleeping form. 

“He’s cooling down again,” he says, and it’s hard to miss the relieved note in his voice. Simon exhales for what feels like the first time in hours, and gently pulls the covers up to Raphael’s stomach. He knows it’s probably impossible for him to get cold, but years spent being human have entrenched these little actions in him. 

Besides if Raphael wakes up in front of him and Magnus just in his pjs then Simon knows exactly what Raphael will say, and it will not be pleasant. He’s probably going to be seriously grumpy anyway and Simon wants to mitigate the effects as much as possible. 

But Raphael sleeps on, even when Jace and Alec clatter back into the room two hours later.

They look tired, but there’s a fire burning in Jace’s eyes and a dark smear of blood on his jaw, which Simon can smell from where he’s sitting. It’s not Jace’s blood, that’s for sure, so he assumes it’s from their mystery poisoner. 

“It’s done,” Jace says perching on the edge of the bed to look down at Raphael before giving Simon a smile. 

“Who was it?” Simon asks. 

“Rogue vamp,” Jace shrugs and he starts unlacing his boots. “Said something about Raphael not being fit to lick Camille’s shoes - some bullshit like that.” He stacks the boots neatly by the bed, knowing that if he just dumps them Raphael will give him an earful when he wakes up, and starts removing his holsters. “Doesn’t matter now, he’s dead.” 

“Dead?” Magnus says sharply. He and Alec are stood on the other side of the bed, their heads together with Alec’s arm around Magnus. Simon’s glad that Magnus won’t be going home alone; he’ll need someone to talk this over with or at least to give him a hug. 

“He attacked me!” Jace says. “What was I supposed to do?!” 

“Subdue him so we could take him to the Clave,” Alec mutters, but there’s no sense of admonishment behind the words. “But since he attempted to assassinate one of the heads of the New York clans, I think we’ll be able to smooth things out.” 

“We?” asks Jace, looking at his parabatai with suspicion. 

“Yes, we.” Alec gives him a firm look. “You can do the paperwork and then explain to the Downworld council what happened.”

“That’s not fair!”

“It’s completely fair,” Alec says. “And I’ll even say you don’t have to come back in and do the paperwork until Raphael is himself again.” 

Jace smiles and nods. It’s a fair point and he knows it. Simon knows Alec is letting Jace get away with a lot here so the least he can do is suck it up and explain, besides Raphael will be there so he’ll be able to say what he went through. 

“Fine,” Jace says, standing up and stretching, his spine popping as he does so. “So, what’s happened here?” 

There’s a moment of silence and Simon’s not sure how much he should tell Jace. Not that it matters, because the poisoner is dead, but he’s not convinced he wants to tell Jace about the screaming. 

Luckily he doesn’t have to.

“I gave Raphael a couple of potions to drink, one to balance him out again and one to put him to sleep, since the balancing part can be a little painful. But he seems to be just fine,” Magnus says, giving Jace a smile and picking up his bag. “He should sleep until tomorrow night, and I’ll drop in and check on him then, but I think that should do the trick. Have a good night boys.” 

Alec gives Jace a hug on his way out and even consents to give Simon one too, before he and Magnus push the door open. Simon can hear them talking about hot baths and Chinese take-out and he smiles to himself. 

“I’m gonna take a shower,” Jace says, casually stripping off his dark, dirty clothes. “Then I need food and we all need sleep.” 

“Yeah, do you want me to make you something?” Simon asks, giving Jace a soft smile. His boyfriend is stood naked on the carpet, ball of dirty clothes in hand, and while Simon can appreciate Jace’s body, he’s far to mentally exhausted to do anything but give him a quick glance. 

“Nah, just I’ll just order take-out,” Jace says, scooping up his phone. “It’ll be here by the time I’m clean.” 

He disappears into the bathroom and after a few minutes, Simon hears the rush of the shower. While Jace is busy, he changes into some comfortable sleep pants and an old Dracula t-shirt he’s had since he was fifteen. He loves the irony of it, and loves watching Raphael roll his eyes whenever he sees it. 

Jace appears, cleaner this time, and pulls a pair of sleep-shorts and a t-shirt out of his drawer. Technically, he doesn’t live here yet, but he spends most of his nights here and now he’s even got a couple of drawers of clothes and there’s a shelf of his products in the bathroom. All he needs is a formal invitation, and Simon realises that he and Raphael should just get on and ask him. They love Jace and they miss him when he’s not here, and it makes perfect sense since he’s here all the time anyway. 

“I’m just gonna go grab my pizza,” he says, giving Simon’s cheek a kiss before sliding out the door and returning two minutes later with food. 

He sits on the floor and eats, chatting in a low voice with Simon about everything. They both hope that Raphael will be okay, and both quietly acknowledge that there’s a good chance he’ll be either hopelessly cuddly or hopelessly grumpy when he wakes up and there’s no way to tell which it will be. 

Eventually, they slide into bed, one on either side of Raphael like an honour guard. Safe and warm together. 


	4. Chapter Four

Simon wakes to the sound of soft yawns and grumbles. He blinks rapidly, trying to brush sleep from his eyes with heavy limbs.

Raphael is tucked in beside him, squished between him and Jace, who’s still snoring. Raphael’s awake, but not very, face crumpled with sleep and dark hair sticking up at odd angles. 

“Raphael?” Simon asks, softly, but not hiding his surprise. Magnus had said Raphael would sleep for the whole day and he’s pretty sure it hasn’t been that long. Raphael makes a sleepy noise of acknowledgement. “How do you feel?” 

“Horrible,” Raphael says. His voice is thick and rapsy, and it reminds Simon of someone who’s got a very thick cold. “I feel newly turned all over again.” His face creases into a scowl of distaste. 

“Are you hungry?” Simon asks.

Raphael nods, “yes. Starving actually.” 

“I’ll get you something to eat.” Simon presses a soft kiss to his temple, feeling endlessly relieved to find cool skin under his lips. He slides out of bed, padding out of their bedroom and into one of their side rooms where they keep the blood bags. If Raphael feels newly turned, he’s going to be ravenous, so Simon grabs as many as he can carry. 

He doesn’t take a glass and instead dumps the bags on the bed. Raphael is sitting up a little, propped on some pillows, Jace still asleep beside him, and when Simon hands him a bag, he looks at him in disbelief. 

“What?” Simon asks. “Oh come on, you can drink it out the bag this once. I promise to change the sheets if you spill. But if you’re that hungry it’ll just be easier than drinking it from a glass.”

Raphael huffs, but doesn’t argue. Instead he twists the top off and starts drinking, making a tiny, happy sound when the blood hits his throat. 

Simon picks up a bag of his own and slips back into bed, pulling the duvet up around his waist before he starts to drink. In all the stress and confusion he’d forgotten his own hunger, but it’s coming back now. Still, it’s nothing on Raphael’s. 

The other vampire drinks three bags before Simon’s even halfway through his, and afterwards he looks adorably full and sleepy. Simon carefully wipes a few stray drops of blood from Raphael’s chin, before pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. He wants to pull Raphael into his arms and hold him there, kissing him gently and telling him how much he loves him. But he’s not sure if Raphael will want that, so he hesitates. 

“What’s that smell?” Jace's face appears from the other side of the bed, nose wrinkled. “Why does it smell like a slaughterhouse in our room?” Simon winces internally. They try not to eat too much in here because the smell can get quite strong. 

“I was hungry,” Raphael says. “And I could ask you the same - why does it smell like a cheap pizzeria in here?”

“Fair point,” Jace says, sitting up a little and giving Raphael his softest smile. “How’re you feeling?”

“Still horrible,” Raphael says. “But a little less so now that I’ve eaten.”

“Better than yesterday?” Jace asks.

“I suppose but-” 

“Good,” Jace says, cutting Raphael off by putting his arm around Raphael’s waist and pulling him down to the bed in an octopus death snuggle.

“Let go of me,” Raphael grumbles, but it’s kind of muted where he’s buried under Jace and the duvet.

“Nope,” Jace says. “You were very sick and made us worry, this is your punishment.”

“To be smothered in your armpit?”

“No, to be cuddled. And stop whining, we all know you love being the little spoon.” 

Simon chuckles, because it’s hard not too. He loves that Jace just strides in and does what he was thinking. He knows Jace would let Raphael go if he really wanted him too, but given that Raphael has gone quiet, Simon knows he’s happy. 

He shifts the blood bags onto a nearby table before sliding up to his men. Raphael is tucked against Jace’s chest, one of Jace’s arms around him, pulling him close. His eyes are closed and his breathing is level, and he looks so adorably peaceful that Simon wishes he could take a picture to remember it. 

Jace smiles at Simon, and Simon leans over Raphael’s head to kiss him. It’s one of those soft, sweet kisses that’s filled with love and unspoken things; like relief and happiness and contentment. 

Jace releases Raphael enough for Simon to get an arm around him, so that soon the smaller vampire is squished in between them. Raphael’s still awake, because every so often he sighs happily, but he’s obviously content just to doze between them. 

So that’s what the three of them do: they spend the whole day in bed, dozing and cuddling, one of them getting up every so often to get Raphael some food, and occasionally exchanging lazy kisses. It’s the perfect remedy to the chaos and uncertainty of yesterday, and it’s amazing just to spend some time together, not worrying about anything outside their room. 

“I love you,” Simon says, as they all cuddle up after a late afternoon snack. He and Raphael had finished what was left in their room and Jace had finished up the second take-out he’d ordered - Chinese this time. They’re all full and sleepy again, but they have a few hours before Magnus arrives. “Both of you, so much.”

“I love you too,” Jace says, kissing them both gently. 

“Mi amor,” Raphael murmurs, returning Jace’s kiss before rolling over in his arms to face Simon. “And mi amor,” he kisses Simon gently. Raphael’s kisses are rare and precious, like beautiful gems, and Simon treasures them. “I love you both, thank you for taking care of me.” Raphael’s voice is heavy with sleep again and Simon smiles as he looks down at the sleepy vampire. 

“Sleep well, my love,” he says, snuggling up alongside him. 

Once again, everything is perfect. 


End file.
